So You Think You Can Dance turns 200; ratings are up for network TV’s best talent competition

by Andy Dehnart27 Jun. 2012 | 12:17 pm

Fox’s best talent competition, So You Think You Can Dance, will air its 200th episode tonight, when the top 20 contestants will be revealed at the end of the Las Vegas week semi-finals. After 199 episodes and nine seasons, SYTYCD is still exceptionally strong.

In its 9th season, So You Think You Can Dance remains network TV’s best competition series, perfecting elements introduced by American Idol and other studio-based competition shows. Cat Deeley presides over a parade of raw talent that sometimes causes the judges to cry and remains memorable years later.

How exactly it will evolve into a single-episode live performance/results show this year remains to be seen, and while it’s stumbled a few times, such as when it introduced that awful set, this show still has legs. (Ugh, sorry.)

about the writer

Andy Dehnart is a journalist who has covered reality television for more than 15 years and created reality blurred in 2000. A member of the Television Critics Association, his writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Playboy, Buzzfeed, and many other publications. Andy, 37, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

follow reality blurred

about this publication

reality blurred exists to cover television's most under-appreciated genre, reality TV, with original reporting, analysis, criticism, and curated information. It's edited by Andy Dehnart.
reality blurred is regularly updated with reality TV news; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of reality TV shows including Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, The Voice, Top Chef, and many more.
Learn more about the site.